You offer services using natural products, and you and your staff make earth-friendly choices for your salon whenever you can. How do you let your clients know about your commitment to going green? Below are five ways to spread your message

Like many salons, East Village Spa in Des Moines, Iowa, was fully booked for Valentine’s Day, then right before the appointment cancellation charge cut-off of 48 hours, clients “suddenly” realized they wouldn’t be able to come in. Rather than lose money on empty appointments, the salon posted the new openings on Twitter. “They were immediately snatched up by people who’d waited too long to make Valentine’s Day plans. Twitter helped us stay 100% booked,” says owner Cassie Sampson.

Sometimes it’s not that you need to get more clients (we’ve already told you that it costs more to get a new client than it does to keep an old one), but that you need to get more out of your clients. That might mean sending them home with a service-preserving retail item (we’ll get to retail in the very near future) or an incentive to entice them to try a new service.

Last-minute openings in your appointment book are inevitable, but these days filling them can mean the difference between being able to pay all of your bills and, well, not being able to. Thankfully, up-to-the-minute social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook are starting to hit their stride, just in time for you to take advantage of the marketing capabilities they have to offer.

Nail salons are one of the more resilient businesses in stagnating economies, but the current downturn has reached everyone to some extent. Many salons are still thriving despite the slowdown — so what’s their secret? Seven techs share their experiences on how they’re beating the odds to stay afloat.